Washington County Fair celebrates its 45th year

Thrill riders enjoy an amusement ride at last year’s fair. This year’s fair will take place Aug. 17 to 21on Route 112.

RICHMOND - It is almost that time of year again.

The Washington County Fair will be celebrating it’s 45th year this summer, and the fun starts next week. The famous gathering of people, music, arts, games, rides, animals and food is set to kick of at the Washington County Fairgrounds on Route 112 on August 17, and the celebration will last until the 21.

According to the fair’s chairman Clyde Fish, the process of getting ready for this year’s fair began as soon as last year’s fair ended.

“It’s a yearly process,” he said. “As far as physically putting things up, we probably started about a month ago, but we really start planning and booking acts after last year’s fair.”

People from far and wide are expected to come, as they do every year, to enjoy one of Rhode Island’s most famous and traditional events, but there is a message that Fish wants to make sure is not lost in all the fun.

“We are able to raise about a quarter of a million dollars per year for community service endeavors,” he said, “and we are very proud of that.”

All of the food vendors at the washington County Fair are non-profit, so all of the money that people spend on pop corn and candy apples goes right back into enriching the community. Organizations that exist for the purpose of benefitting the greater good, such as the Chariho Rotary Club, come to the fair as food vendors.

The Chariho Rotary Club serves strawberry shortcakes at the fair, and Fish relished in the idea of getting a chance to tray all of the concessions.

“That’s the job of the chairman,” he joked.

Fish has been Fair Chairman since 1999, and has been on the committee since 1983. He estimates that in his tenure the fair has raised around $10 million for the community.